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Best family automatic around £10k

135

Comments

  • ontheroad1970
    ontheroad1970 Posts: 1,706 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 24 January at 5:59PM
    To the EV evangelists, I'm not sure the Zoe etc is the way to go on this occasion, OP is doing nearly all motorway miles and 25k a year.  Family sized vehicles in EV form are either 40k+ or not here yet.
    I suggested a used 40kWh Leaf. Half the price you suggest, going down as prices get back to normal.

    On 25k a year mileage the OP would be saving £5k/year on fossil fuel, so after a couple of years it would have cost the same as a fossil car.

    Get a loan for it, after a couple of years the loan is paid off and the OP has an extra 5k/year in their pocket.
    In my opinion, a Leaf won't be great for motorway munching  - electric cars are at their best in towns, and won't be a spacious family car either.  I only have one child and I wouldn't choose one, both for that reason and the motorway journey.  I drive from Wales to Heathrow regularly.  I rarely stop on the way there.  

    Finally, get in the real world and read the budget the OP is talking about.  

    You EVheads need some maths lessons.  Half of £40k isn't £10k.  

    The OP's budget is £10k.  An electric car may well pay dividends over time.  It doesn't give the OP another £10k now.  Get out of cloud cuckoo land.
  • ididgetwhereiamtoday
    ididgetwhereiamtoday Posts: 295 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts
    edited 24 January at 5:59PM
    To the EV evangelists, I'm not sure the Zoe etc is the way to go on this occasion, OP is doing nearly all motorway miles and 25k a year.  Family sized vehicles in EV form are either 40k+ or not here yet.
    I suggested a used 40kWh Leaf. Half the price you suggest, going down as prices get back to normal.

    On 25k a year mileage the OP would be saving £5k/year on fossil fuel, so after a couple of years it would have cost the same as a fossil car.

    Get a loan for it, after a couple of years the loan is paid off and the OP has an extra 5k/year in their pocket.
    In my opinion, a Leaf won't be great for motorway munching  - electric cars are at their best in towns, and won't be a spacious family car either.  I only have one child and I wouldn't choose one, both for that reason and the motorway journey.  I drive from Wales to Heathrow regularly.  I rarely stop on the way there.  

    Finally, get in the real world and read the budget the OP is talking about.  

    You EVheads need some maths lessons.  Half of £40k isn't £10k.  

    The OP's budget is £10k.  An electric car may well pay dividends over time.  It doesn't give the OP another £10k now.  Get out of cloud cuckoo land.
    Actually the savings are pretty instant as you immediately stop buying petrol which is such a good feeling. So the extra loan monthly payments will easily cover the fuel savings. 
    A used 40kw leaf at 20 grand should still have a useful range of 150 miles per charge so it is definitely worth the op doing more research into this. 
    The leaf is a very comfortable well equipped car that is a pleasure to drive and easy to own. 

    I agree that they are better suited to town driving ideally but they are still very capable on motorways. For further distances a rapid charge takes less than 30 minutes. 
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 15,936 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    You can get Leafs for £10k now, and they'd clearly pay for themselves even at £20k, but I'm not sure if they'd be a particularly suitable family car.

    I know a few people who use Leafs to commute, about 50-80 miles a day, mostly motorway, but the ones with kids also have a bigger family car.

    The MG5 EV would be a much better size (and range), but still too far out of budget. I'd still at least have a look at making it work, though, before writing it off entirely.
  • ontheroad1970
    ontheroad1970 Posts: 1,706 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Fourth Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 24 January at 5:59PM
    To the EV evangelists, I'm not sure the Zoe etc is the way to go on this occasion, OP is doing nearly all motorway miles and 25k a year.  Family sized vehicles in EV form are either 40k+ or not here yet.
    I suggested a used 40kWh Leaf. Half the price you suggest, going down as prices get back to normal.

    On 25k a year mileage the OP would be saving £5k/year on fossil fuel, so after a couple of years it would have cost the same as a fossil car.

    Get a loan for it, after a couple of years the loan is paid off and the OP has an extra 5k/year in their pocket.
    In my opinion, a Leaf won't be great for motorway munching  - electric cars are at their best in towns, and won't be a spacious family car either.  I only have one child and I wouldn't choose one, both for that reason and the motorway journey.  I drive from Wales to Heathrow regularly.  I rarely stop on the way there.  

    Finally, get in the real world and read the budget the OP is talking about.  

    You EVheads need some maths lessons.  Half of £40k isn't £10k.  

    The OP's budget is £10k.  An electric car may well pay dividends over time.  It doesn't give the OP another £10k now.  Get out of cloud cuckoo land.
    Actually the savings are pretty instant as you immediately stop buying petrol which is such a good feeling. So the extra loan monthly payments will easily cover the fuel savings. 
    A used 40kw leaf at 20 grand should still have a useful range of 150 miles per charge so it is definitely worth the op doing more research into this. 
    The leaf is a very comfortable well equipped car that is a pleasure to drive and easy to own. 

    I agree that they are better suited to town driving ideally but they are still very capable on motorways. For further distances a rapid charge takes less than 30 minutes. 
    They don't put £10k in your hand immediately, which has been the colour of some of the arguments of some pro EV people on here.  I wouldn't want to use one to get a family on holiday.  Not without a roof box, and that would reduce its range considerably.  

    I'm not anti EV.  I just don't think it's quite ready for certain sectors.  It is ready for more sectors than naysayers suggest as most people don't do 200 miles in a single hit.  I do.  So electric isn't ready for me yet.  I looked at the MG but its a little utilitarian for my taste. EVs will get there in the next few years and hopefully by then energy will be closer to normal levels.
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 15,936 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    edited 24 January at 5:59PM
    To the EV evangelists, I'm not sure the Zoe etc is the way to go on this occasion, OP is doing nearly all motorway miles and 25k a year.  Family sized vehicles in EV form are either 40k+ or not here yet.
    I suggested a used 40kWh Leaf. Half the price you suggest, going down as prices get back to normal.

    On 25k a year mileage the OP would be saving £5k/year on fossil fuel, so after a couple of years it would have cost the same as a fossil car.

    Get a loan for it, after a couple of years the loan is paid off and the OP has an extra 5k/year in their pocket.
    In my opinion, a Leaf won't be great for motorway munching  - electric cars are at their best in towns, and won't be a spacious family car either.  I only have one child and I wouldn't choose one, both for that reason and the motorway journey.  I drive from Wales to Heathrow regularly.  I rarely stop on the way there.  

    Finally, get in the real world and read the budget the OP is talking about.  

    You EVheads need some maths lessons.  Half of £40k isn't £10k.  

    The OP's budget is £10k.  An electric car may well pay dividends over time.  It doesn't give the OP another £10k now.  Get out of cloud cuckoo land.
    Actually the savings are pretty instant as you immediately stop buying petrol which is such a good feeling. So the extra loan monthly payments will easily cover the fuel savings. 
    A used 40kw leaf at 20 grand should still have a useful range of 150 miles per charge so it is definitely worth the op doing more research into this. 
    The leaf is a very comfortable well equipped car that is a pleasure to drive and easy to own. 

    I agree that they are better suited to town driving ideally but they are still very capable on motorways. For further distances a rapid charge takes less than 30 minutes. 
    They don't put £10k in your hand immediately, which has been the colour of some of the arguments of some pro EV people on here.  I wouldn't want to use one to get a family on holiday.  Not without a roof box, and that would reduce its range considerably. 

    The range reduction from having stuff on the roof is even worse for EV's than ICE, because the ICE is so inefficient anyway.
    Very roughly, doubling the travelling work will half an EV's range, but given the moving is only responsible for about 1/3rd of the fuel used by an ICE, it'll only drop the range by about 1/6th.

    So I wouldn't want to use an EV with a roof box very often. The range reduction with a bike rack was one of the things that's making we wait for the next generation of EVs.
  • The suggestion for an EV is interesting, I have looked into it previously.

    My round trip is 230 miles in total; I do this 2 days a week and it is completed in 1 go (I pick up/drop off my son, turn around and come home). When you consider this it puts me into the realms of the premium EVs and those with large batteries which are starting at well over £45,000 new. 

    I have looked at the maths and I don't think an EV can ever work for me; Even considering the tax cuts and the reduction in the cost of fuel, it would take many years to recoup the extra capital expenditure vs. an older diesel car. 

    The fuel saving is 'roughly' £200 a month so at current fuel and electric prices so by my maths I'd have to own an EV for over 15 years (375,000 miles) to break even on total cost vs. a £10,000 diesel. I doubt an EV has the reliability to last that long. 
  • Brewer21 said:
    Hi all -

    My current car (A Skoda Rapid Spaceback 2015 1.4tdi) has developed a fault that apparently nobody can diagnose or fix (even the main stealer)

    I eat up 25k a year (85% motorway miles) so I really need something I can rely on and keep going ideally up to 250k miles or more. 

    Whats my best bet for a family sized automatic around 10k? 

    It seems like I can’t find anything newer than 2015 which worries me as it will be a downgrade from my current car! 

    Car prices have risen astronomically since I paid £9k for mine back in 2018!!!!


    Have you tried a diesel specific mechanic, is it an engine fault?
    It's an odd fault, the car fails to start (completely randomly, intermittent, not correlated with any driving condition/temperature etc.) I used to get round this by turning the start-stop feature off (Still annoying, as I couldn't stop on long journeys at the services etc for fear of not getting started again) however, recently, the car has started cutting out when idling even when the start-stop is off. This is dangerous particularly in traffic jams etc as I can't restart the engine. Skoda basically told me to swivel. Said they couldn't diagnose the problem and every time I take it in they charge from £150+ for the privilege of telling me nothing wrong. No faults are recorded by the car so unfortunately, diagnostics (which again I've paid for) doesn't help at all. It's coming up for a Cambelt and major service (~£800 minimum) + needs new front shocks before the MOT. It's not a cost I feel like committing to for a car that has given me nothing but problems in my 4 years of ownership.
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 15,936 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    The suggestion for an EV is interesting, I have looked into it previously.

    My round trip is 230 miles in total; I do this 2 days a week and it is completed in 1 go (I pick up/drop off my son, turn around and come home). When you consider this it puts me into the realms of the premium EVs and those with large batteries which are starting at well over £45,000 new. 

    I have looked at the maths and I don't think an EV can ever work for me; Even considering the tax cuts and the reduction in the cost of fuel, it would take many years to recoup the extra capital expenditure vs. an older diesel car. 

    The fuel saving is 'roughly' £200 a month so at current fuel and electric prices so by my maths I'd have to own an EV for over 15 years (375,000 miles) to break even on total cost vs. a £10,000 diesel. I doubt an EV has the reliability to last that long. 

    Yeah, 230 miles in a single sitting is a big ask. An MG5 should get you about 200 miles so you'd need to stop somewhere and add another 30-ish miles of charge (which shouldn't take more than about 10 minutes). You can get one from about £33k new, or a £25k used with a PCP of about £400/month, so that £200/month fuel saving may cover the difference between the finance gap between it and a £10k car.

    I don't think your saving math is quite right, as the EV would be worth significantly more than the diesel at any point in the depreciation curve.

    That said, it's still pretty close so a diesel is likely your best option.
  • Herzlos
    Herzlos Posts: 15,936 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Brewer21 said:
    Hi all -

    My current car (A Skoda Rapid Spaceback 2015 1.4tdi) has developed a fault that apparently nobody can diagnose or fix (even the main stealer)

    I eat up 25k a year (85% motorway miles) so I really need something I can rely on and keep going ideally up to 250k miles or more. 

    Whats my best bet for a family sized automatic around 10k? 

    It seems like I can’t find anything newer than 2015 which worries me as it will be a downgrade from my current car! 

    Car prices have risen astronomically since I paid £9k for mine back in 2018!!!!


    Have you tried a diesel specific mechanic, is it an engine fault?
    It's an odd fault, the car fails to start (completely randomly, intermittent, not correlated with any driving condition/temperature etc.) I used to get round this by turning the start-stop feature off (Still annoying, as I couldn't stop on long journeys at the services etc for fear of not getting started again) however, recently, the car has started cutting out when idling even when the start-stop is off. This is dangerous particularly in traffic jams etc as I can't restart the engine. Skoda basically told me to swivel. Said they couldn't diagnose the problem and every time I take it in they charge from £150+ for the privilege of telling me nothing wrong. No faults are recorded by the car so unfortunately, diagnostics (which again I've paid for) doesn't help at all. It's coming up for a Cambelt and major service (~£800 minimum) + needs new front shocks before the MOT. It's not a cost I feel like committing to for a car that has given me nothing but problems in my 4 years of ownership.
    Have you tried any owners club forums? They've helped me diagnose stuff before that's had garages stumped.

    Or an independent specialist, who may have a better idea than the garage and should be a lot cheaper. They may even be happier to drive it around for a few days to witness the issue first hand.

  • Grumpy_chap
    Grumpy_chap Posts: 18,341 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Petriix said:
    Petriix said:
    Then there's the tax benefits - assuming those £25k miles are business related. 
    I am not sure that there are necessary outstanding tax benefits, even if doing business mileage.  The OP appears to be buying their own car and not mentioned the potential of a SS scheme being available.

    What tax benefits did you have in mind for the OP to take advantage of?

    I am not saying an EV is not worthy of consideration, but the decision should take into account actual factors that apply in their case and not just factors that may apply in other cases.  

    If the OP is doing business miles and can claim standard mileage rates, that will be helpful to the financial balance.
    Depending on the scenario... If you buy through a business then the entire purchase price is tax deductible, otherwise salary sacrifice is extremely tax efficient at 2% BIK. 
    Why do you persist with "electric car under tax benefits is cheap" as the solution to every question?
    Yes, the tax benefits for an EV can be outstanding for those that can take advantage of them. 
    That simply does not seem to apply here.
    The OP is looking for a £10k 2015 or newer family car - clearly a personal purchase and nothing at all to suggest that the OP can take advantage of salary sacrifice or buy through a business.
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